England v Germany LIVE: Nations League result, final score and reaction as Three Lions draw thriller
England 3-3 Germany: Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Harry Kane turned a 2-0 deficit at Wembley into a 3-2 lead before Germany equalised late on
England head to the World Cup buoyed by a rousing comeback against Germany but a late error by Nick Pope meant under-fire Gareth Southgate’s side had to make do with a 3-3 draw at the end of a frenetic second half.
Among the favourites to triumph in Qatar having reached the semi-finals four years ago and finished runners-up at last summer’s Euros, hope and optimism has seeped away in recent months. England were relegated from the Nations League top tier following Friday’s loss to Italy and pressure looked set to increase on Southgate, and Harry Maguire, after Ilkay Gundogan’s penalty and a stunning Kai Havertz strike.
But the hosts displayed the kind of resilience and ruthlessness their manager called for in the build-up in front of a sold-out Wembley crowd that did not turn on the group. Luke Shaw scored England’s first goal from open play in this Nations League campaign to bring hope, with substitute Mason Mount lashing home a leveller eight minutes after they had gone two goals behind.
Wembley was bouncing and the noise went up several notches when Harry Kane slammed home an 83rd-minute penalty following Nico Schlotterbeck’s foul on Jude Bellingham, but there was to be no return to winning ways. Havertz tapped in after back-up goalkeeper Pope spilled a Serge Gnabry shot, meaning England go to Qatar without a win in six but boosted by a much-needed show of skill and spirit.
Relive the action from Wembley as England take on Germany:
England vs Germany line-ups
England XI: Pope, James, Stones, Dier, Maguire, Shaw, Bellingham, Rice, Foden, Kane, Sterling
Germany XI: Ter Stegen, Hofmann, Sule, Kehrer, Raum, Kimmich, Gundogan, Musiala, Schlotterbeck, Sane, Havertz
England vs Germany
Excluding Euro 2020, Germany are unbeaten in each of their last six away games against England with five wins and one draw during that run.
That draw was a goalless one in November 2017 ending a run of five consecutive wins for Die Mannschaft.
England’s bad run
England have gone five matches without a win (two draws, three losses) for the first time since June 2014 (also five), failing to score in three successive internationals for the first time since November 2000 (also three).
The Three Lions last endured a longer winless run between April-June 1993 (six), while only once in their history have they failed to score in four successive games (April-May 1981).
England need a goal
England are one of only two nations yet to score a single non-penalty goal in the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League; the other nation is San Marino.
Sterling on England’s poor form
Speaking ahead of tonight’s clash with Germany winger Raheem Sterling acknowledged that the Three Lions are going through a lean period but that the belief is still there that they can achieve big things. He said:
"It’s been a tough period but I don’t think any of the boys will be thinking that we don’t have a good chance in the winter - that’s the belief that we have as a group.
"The results don’t show that right now but I strongly believe, with the boys, that when we go over there in the winter that we’ll have a good one.
"There’s no need to panic. These results are bad but we’ve got good things to come."
Raheem Sterling reflects on past ‘dread’ of international duty with England
Raheem Sterling is in the unique position of being able to empathise with Gareth Southgate after the England manager was jeered by his own fans, recalling a time he “dreaded” international duty having suffered similar treatment.
Southgate has come under increasing pressure after defeat to Italy on Friday not only confirmed Nations League relegation but extended England’s competitive winless streak to five competitive games; not in their history have they gone six matches without a victory.
Supporters turned on Southgate, who took England to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and the Euro 2020 final last summer, as they slumped to a 4-0 mauling to Hungary at Molineux in June.
Raheem Sterling reflects on past ‘dread’ of international duty with England
The Chelsea forward was previously a target for the boo-boys at Euro 2016.
The stage is set
England take on Germany at Wembley. Kick off for this one is at 7.45pm with the official team news expected out soon.
Southgate understands supporters booing
Italy beat England 1-0 on Friday to relegate them to League B in the Nations League and as Gareth Southgate went over to applaud the travelling fans at the San Siro he was met with a chorus of boos from supporters.
Not a massive amount of boos but certainly enough to voice the displeasure at England’s current lack of form.
"Of course we understand how the mood changes with the results, and it has changed," Southgate said. "I am realistic about that. I’ll be judged on what’s delivered in Qatar and I am perfectly happy to be judged in that way.
"History is history. You’re judged on the next match and you’re judged on the next tournament."
He added:"I’m not the first coach to go through a difficult time in terms of results and criticism. That is part of the territory. For me, it’s a great challenge to lead the team through a moment like this.
"You are not going to have six years as we’ve had without a spell where you are going to have some tough results, and you’ve got to show resilience to come through those moments."
England vs Germany
England have won three of their last six competitive meetings with Germany - with one draw and two defeats - having won only one of the first seven such encounters - four draws, two defeats.
England search for calm to change narrative amid Gareth Southgate’s divisive formation
In what was England’s last training session before the World Cup camp actually begins, Gareth Southgate spent most of the time trying to solve the biggest issues with his three-man backline formation. That is not just the lack of goals, but the lack of chances and creativity.
The coaching staff worked on drills where one of the two central midfielders moved much higher up in the build-up, to try and offer “that extra man”.
Given the paucity of sessions before the squad actually meet up for Qatar, that proves the manager won’t be moving off three at the back. There was nevertheless a hint of a giveaway as Raheem Sterling described it to the media as “this five at the back”.
That reflects how many see it is a primarily defensive system, especially since the entire point is to offer England security in the most testing games. While Southgate is prepared to go to four against teams outside the top tier, that isn’t the case with matches like this, as his side face Germany for a last send-off before the World Cup.
England search for calm to change narrative amid divisive formation
The Three Lions boss is searching for creativity months out from the 2022 World Cup and concedes he is innovating due to the lack of a passing midfielder
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